Post navigation

SAK Environmental has initiated a 5-year environmental monitoring program of a newly constructed synthetic turf football field at a local, public high school in the Boston metropolitan area. Public involvement by residents had raised concern about potential human and environmental exposure to Lead and other hazardous materials from the crumb rubber in-fill. SAK has implemented a multimedia monitoring program that includes storm water, groundwater, wetland, and evaluation of the field’s surface for Lead dust. SAK is also developing an inspection protocol to quantitatively and consistently evaluate the amount of crumb rubber entering the field’s storm water drainage system. The reports will provide city officials, residents and MADEP important data that can be used as a case study.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released a study in December 2009, which completed comprehensive chemical testing as a small number of synthetic fields in the United States. The study is entitled “A Scoping-Level Field Monitoring Study of Synthetic Turf Fields and Playgrounds” can be found at http://www.epa.gov/nerl/features/tire_crumbs.html. While the fields included in their study did not find significant exposure concerns, it was accepted that results do not represent the wide variability in the quality of crumb rubber. USEPA is planning a 2010 meeting with federal and state agencies to review all new study data and determine next steps.